Marwa lowers Re to komal and raises Ma to tivra, and leaves the rest shuddh: Sa komal-Re Ga tivra-Ma Pa Dha Ni. It is a restless scale. Komal Re pulls down towards Sa, tivra Ma pulls up towards Pa, and between them Ga stands uneasy. Its raags belong to dusk, the anxious, searching hour before night.
Its swaras
Raag Marwa, the thaat's namesake, leaves out Pa altogether, so that Sa itself is touched only lightly: the raag seems never to come to rest. Komal Re and Dha carry it instead.
All ten alankars in Marwa, to hear in your Sa →
How bright it is
One swara lowered and one raised: level with Bilawal on the ladder, though it sounds nothing like it.
On the circle of thaats
Marwa sits between Purvi and Kalyan: lower its Dha and it is Purvi; raise its Re and it is Kalyan.
Its raags
Marwa, Puriya and Sohini share the same swaras and differ in where they dwell: Marwa on komal Re and Dha, Puriya on Ga and Ni, low in the scale, Sohini high, near taar Sa. Telling the three apart is a classic exercise. Puriya Kalyan, Bhatiyar and Vibhas belong here too, and Lalit, a raag of dawn with both Mas, which Bhatkhande placed in Marwa.
In the West and the South
There is no common Western mode with these swaras: it is a major scale with its second lowered and its fourth raised.
In Karnatic music it is the 53rd melakarta, Gamanashrama.
Practise it
Tune komal Re against Sa, then tivra Ma between Ga and Pa: the two altered swaras are what make Marwa, and both must be exact.
To make the ten thaats a daily riyaz, Meend has them ready: begin a riyaz of the thaats.
Questions
Which swaras are altered in Marwa thaat?
Re is komal and Ma is tivra; the others are shuddh.
Which raags are in Marwa thaat?
Marwa, Puriya, Sohini, Puriya Kalyan, Bhatiyar, Vibhas and Lalit, among others.
How are Marwa, Puriya and Sohini different?
They share their swaras. Marwa dwells on komal Re and Dha, Puriya low on Ga and Ni, Sohini high, near taar Sa; each has its own hour and phrases.